[Sugar-devel] Call for testing

[Christian Marc Schmidt]

Hi Simon


These are all very important issues to discuss. I would feel much more
comfortable, given how far along we already are in the design process, if
there were a way to test design changes before releasing them as a public
build. Especially seeing as we are increasingly faced with situations where
either solution seems acceptable, and it is a question of perspective or
usability, as was the case for yesterday's Home view discussion.

I'll start thinking about a protocol by which to test the current build of
Sugar and gather structured feedback in order to share it with the entire
design team. That should help us make informed decisions regarding changes
to what is already there. For new features, it should mostly be sufficient
to test low-fidelity prototypes, i.e. print-outs of what the screens might
look like, to be able to gage how intuitive they are.

I'll aim to have something to share by our next meeting. If anyone would
like to participate in helping me create the test protocol, please let me
know!


Christian


On Sun, Jan 17, 2010 at 5:05 PM, Simon Schampijer <simon at schampijer.de>wrote:

>  On Sun, Jan 17, 2010 at 15:36, Christian Marc Schmidt
>>>> <christianmarc at gmail.com>  wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Hi Sugar Design Group:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> I enjoyed the meeting yesterday, and think we ended up making several
>>>>>
>>>> good
>>>>
>>>>> decisions. However, regarding the Home view, I am now beginning to
>>>>>
>>>> wonder if
>>>>
>>>>> we are doing the right thing by hastily changing the design without
>>>>> conducting a proper qualitative study.
>>>>> I am only questioning it because I feel that, with every major design
>>>>> change, it would be best if we had real evidence, beyond just the
>>>>>
>>>> anecdotal.
>>>>
>>>>> Ideally, I envision the design team being a part of these observations,
>>>>>
>>>> and
>>>>
>>>>> systematically testing design decisions in the field with a number of
>>>>> participants. It need not be more than say a sampling of 20-30 students
>>>>>
>>>> of
>>>>
>>>>> various age-groups, but the insight from these observations could
>>>>> really
>>>>> drive us to make more informed design decisions, based on more than
>>>>> just
>>>>>
>>>> our
>>>>
>>>>> opinions (which, as we saw yesterday, tends to lead to compromise).
>>>>> So, I personally think that we are at a point where we should try and
>>>>> arrange for some user-testing for the design group, however we
>>>>>
>>>> facilitate
>>>>
>>>>> it, before proceeding with any revisions to the existing design (though
>>>>>
>>>> I
>>>>
>>>>> wouldn't want that to hold us back from adding any additional features
>>>>>
>>>> like
>>>>
>>>>> the thumbnail view, that continue to build out the UI to match the
>>>>>
>>>> original
>>>>
>>>>> design intent). I have a little experience putting together qualitative
>>>>>
>>>> test
>>>>
>>>>> protocols, and while I'm not sure exactly how to facilitate these
>>>>>
>>>> testing
>>>>
>>>>> sessions, I think some of you may have ideas.
>>>>> What do you think? Should we use our meeting next Saturday to discuss
>>>>>
>>>> our
>>>>
>>>>> options for testing?
>>>>>
>>>>
> Thanks Christian for putting this on the table. Of course, a qualitative
> study would help to get some data about the new design and we should setup a
> process to get that feedback. As you mentioned some of the designs probably
> do not need that much of a study.
>
> Today I thought about how we can achieve a full Feature cycle. We have
> several parts settled but they are not all linked together yet and some are
> missing.
>
> We have the Feature Policy, which main goal is to make systematic and
> predictable the process by which community ideas on how Sugar should evolve
> get transformed into actionable proposals. The Feature process includes the
> task of the submitter to get feedback of the design team (if the Feature
> adds UI or changes current UI). What we have not defined is what we do with
> the design teams feedback. We should give the submitter a way to comment on
> that design and in cases like the Home View changes we probably should get
> feedback in form of a study. Of course we need the developers as well to
> create testable 'ideas'. And who has the final word?
>
> I will think about it a bit more and ideas are of course welcome. It is not
> an easy task as it needs cross-team communication and cross-team working.
> Already with the work we did yesterday we made a big step forward into that
> direction and I am very happy about that.
>
> Thanks,
>   Simon
>
> [1] http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Features/Policy
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>


-- 
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